Steam] Did you miss out on anything?　Steam New Game January Release Recommendations! From city planning with random elements to mystery adventure!

1，Create your way to the future in a fantasy world! Against the Storm, a city-building simulation with random elements

This may seem out of the blue, but don't you sometimes have an irresistible urge to play city-building simulation games?　There are probably many gamers who love the steady work of building houses and facilities, increasing the number of citizens, and making civilization flourish.

Against the Storm" is a city-building simulation game set in a fantasy world. In a world afflicted by the "Bright Storm," a phenomenon that destroys everything, Smoldering City, ruled by the Queen "Scorch Queen," is the only safe place. As one of the Queen's appointed governors, the player's objective is to help rebuild Smoldering City by setting out into the untamed wilderness to establish new settlements. The game's worldview, reminiscent of a fantasy RPG, is interesting and engaging.

The only way to clear the game is to collect fame points and fill up the blue " Fame Bar" displayed at the bottom of the screen. However, there is a restriction that the red " Queen's Wrath " must be reached before the bar is full. The queen's wrath accumulates over time and other factors, but it can be lowered by completing "commands," which are missions that appear in the game. Also, since fame points are earned by accomplishing commands, the player must actively aim to accomplish the commands during the game.

On the settlement screen, which is the main part of the game, players first construct various facilities.
The first step is to build various facilities, such as the "Lumberjack Camp" and the "Quarryman Camp," to collect materials such as wood and stone, and to build houses for the inhabitants to live in. Note, however, that building a "woodcutter's camp" or other facility does not mean that the residents will just start working there; they must be assigned to a person in charge. Some people are good at farming, while beavers are good at woodworking, and so on. The fact that not only humans but also beastmen, monsters, and other species live and work together is an interesting aspect of this work's fantasy worldview.

Around the settlements, there are several vacant lots covered with fog. By cutting down trees and connecting the vacant lots to the settlements, the fog in the vacant lots is lifted and new resources can be obtained and harvested. Occasionally, there are vacant lots that contain ruins or supply bins, which provide opportunities to acquire additional resources and supplies. These "vacant land events" are rewarded by assigning residents to investigate them, but some are negative vacant land events that can have detrimental effects if not dealt with quickly. This excitement and thrill of expanding your territory through exploration makes the game feel like an RPG, even though it is a simulation game.

The structure of settlements changes each time you play, and there are various random elements in this game, such as what you can get from open spaces hidden by fog, but the most important of these is the building blueprints that can be acquired through fame bonuses.

Buildings necessary for basic resources, such as gathering wood, can be constructed from the start, but advanced facilities are randomly selected from among those presented to the player. In addition to that, the rewards obtained by clearing directives, the content of support regularly obtained from the queen, and the passive skill "keystone" that is given each time a year passes in the game are all random in terms of what you will find.

Although this is a simulation game, there are plenty of highly random roguelite elements in this game, and this is what makes it the most appealing and exciting part of the game. This, combined with the fact that the game is highly replayable and can be played in a relatively quick and easy time for a simulation game, makes it possible to keep playing over and over again without getting tired of it.

The game's appeal lies in the fact that as the player's level increases, various facilities and functions are released, and there is also a skill tree-like upgrade element, so the game becomes more and more advantageous each time it is played over and over again. If you like city-building simulation games, you will be hooked in no time.

Against the Storm" is a perfect blend of a fantasy-like worldview, city-building simulation elements that require a sense of speed and good judgment, and random elements that keep you excited every time you play. As mentioned earlier, the game has a very high level of replayability, making it a title that will keep you playing for a long time. If you like simulation games, you should check out this title.

• Against the Storm" (Eremite Games)
• Genre: Simulation
• Release date: December 9, 2023
• Price: 3,980 yen (as of January 23, 2024)
• Copyright: (C) 2023 Eremite Games

2, Can you get to the bottom of a difficult unsolved case?　A puzzle-oriented mystery adventure, "Unsolved Cases Must Be Closed".

There are "unsolved cases" in the world. These are difficult cases that have not yet been solved without knowing the truth or the culprit. Introduced here is "Unsolved Cases Must Be Finished", a work that takes such unsolved cases as its theme.

This is a mystery adventure game about an unsolved case. It is the latest title from the developer of the popular indie adventure games known as the " Worst Feeling Trilogy," which includes "REPLICA," "Legal Dungeon," and "The Wake," and like the aforementioned trilogy, it has a unique system and worldview that can be enjoyed. Like the trilogy, it is a game with a unique system and worldview that can be enjoyed.

The protagonist of the game is Aoi Kiyosaki, who retired from the police force 12 years ago. Kiyosaki was investigating the case of a missing girl, Saika, 12 years ago, but despite repeated interviews and investigations, he was unable to solve the case, and it eventually became an unsolved case.
One day, a young policeman visits Kiyosaki, a former police officer, and requests his help to end the "Missing Saika-chan case. ...... is the synopsis of this work. Combined with the black-based dot graphic style graphic design, the game has a mysterious atmosphere.

The main game screen has an interface reminiscent of the screens of message applications and social networking services such as LINE. On this screen, the text of interactions with the people involved in the case investigation will be displayed. In some testimonials, words with hashtags that are displayed in different colors or the name of a person with an atmark may appear. By clicking on these words, you will be able to hear other testimonies or see other people's names, and so on.

As the story unfolds, testimonies from Saika's father, Saika's mother, and other people involved in the case appear one after another, but it is important to remember that these are only "Aoi Kiyosaki's memories". Therefore, there are many ambiguous parts, such as the time and lineage of the testimonies are different, and the people themselves are not the same. Therefore, even if you read the testimonies in order from the top, you may often find yourself saying, "...... hmm? even when reading the testimonials in order from the top to the bottom.

What the player must do is reassign the speaker of the testimony to the correct person or rearrange the testimony so that it is in the correct chronological order. The player must carefully read the words in the testimony, observe the beginning and end of sentences in the testimony, or carefully decipher other people's testimonies to put them in the correct form. Although it is a text-based adventure game, it has a play feel similar to solving a jigsaw puzzle, allowing you to sit back and enjoy the game.

Some of the testimonials can only be unlocked by finding and clicking on the text that answers the question that appears, or by entering four-digit numbers, such as birthdays or other dates related to the case. In addition, there are testimonials that can only be opened by using the golden key, which is obtained by rearranging the order of the testimonials multiple times in the correct sequence. As players solve these puzzles, they are naturally forced to carefully read the text, and at the same time, they can simulate the experience of working on a difficult cold case investigation. I felt that this is a very interactive mystery-solving experience that cannot be reproduced in mystery novels or TV dramas, and is only possible through the medium of a "game.

By deciphering testimonies like puzzle pieces and putting them back together correctly, you will get to the bottom of a mysterious unsolved case "because an unsolved case must be finished. If you like puzzle solving, puzzles, escape games, and mystery novels, this is a recommended adventure game that you should definitely play.

• Unsolved Case Must Be Closed" (Somi)
• Genre: Adventure
• Release date: January 18, 2024
• Price: 800 yen (as of January 23, 2024)
• Copyright: (C) 2024 Somi

3, Pay a jangly tribute to the cute plague god!　Cracklingly funny high-speed comedy simulation "Let them pay tribute! Meowon-chan!

Have you ever played O-Giri?
Unless you are a comedian or a radio postcard writer, you probably don't get to do it very often in your daily life! Meien-chan! is a game that makes it easy (?) to enjoy such comedy. This is a game in which you can easily (?) enjoy such a game.

This is a simulation game in which players pay tribute to Yorigami Jyoen, the god of plague and disease, by giving away goods at high speed. Yorigami Jyoen" is a character from "Toho Project," a group of bullet-hell shooting games produced by Shanghai Alice Phantom. In other words, this game is a derivative work of "Touhou Project," but even if you are not familiar with the original or derivative works of "Touhou Project," don't worry, you can play it without problems.

The main character in this work is the aforementioned plague goddess, Nyoen-chan. The player's objective, as the title suggests, is to pay tribute to Meowon-chan with goods. The player's objective, as the title implies, is to pay her a visit, and the "big game" is where the player's "big game" comes into play. Players can pay tribute to Meowon-chan by inputting their answers in words according to her requests. The items that can be contributed are limited to those with two letters, one of which is fixed in the theme, so the player only needs to enter the remaining letter.

The theme can be anything from "food with a 'ta'" to "something useful with an 'i'" and so on. The player then clicks on the letters on the virtual keyboard to create words such as "Tai (sea bream)" or "Is (chair)" to answer the questions. The interesting point is that the player can get a reaction from Meowon-chan in response to the word he or she created.

For example, if you offer her a chair, she will smile and say, "Oh, it's a cute chair," but if you offer her squid, she will look at you with a confused look on her face and say, "Damn...don't bring squid straight to me.... Sometimes, you may forget the objective of completing the task because you want to see her reactions.

The game is a stage-clearing type, and the next stage will be released if you clear a set number of questions within a set time limit. This is what makes the game "High-Speed Taikiri," but the unique system includes a "Gokigen Meter" and a "Budget" in addition to the time limit.

The "Gokigen Meter" is a meter that visualizes the mood of the female player. The meter rises as she likes the items you give her, and if the meter is above the threshold, the stage will be cleared. The meter goes up if the player gives something that is in line with the theme, but it goes down if the player gives something that has nothing to do with the theme or is just a joke.

As the name implies, the amount of money a player has at a given stage. Each item created by the player in the "O-Kiri" game has a set price, and each time the player pays a tribute to Meen-chan, the amount of money is deducted from the player's allowance.

If you give her expensive items such as sea urchin or shark's fin, the meter will increase, but at the same time, the amount of money you have will decrease, increasing the risk that you will go over your budget and fail. This exquisite "tingling sensation" of trying to come up with something not too expensive but still pleasing within the time limit is the real thrill of this game, and seems to be a highly addictive point.

The unique and one-of-a-kind gameplay of speedily paying tribute by answering a "big question" is the charm of "Let them pay tribute! Meowen-chan!" . The unexpected words that are born from the letters that are entered in a desperate attempt to make a joke are a unique and addictive point of this game. If you are interested in this game, please use your vocabulary to pay tribute to Meowon-chan.

• Let her pay you tribute! Meowon-chan! (ISY)
• Genre: Simulation
• Release date: December 5, 2023
• Price: 700 yen (as of January 23, 2024)
• Copyright: (C) 2024 ISY

Did you find any of our recommended new Steam titles of interest?

So, we've introduced our recommended new Steam titles.

We introduced three titles with a wide variety of genres, including a town-building simulation, a mystery adventure, and a great comedy game. With today's cold weather, we hope you will check out these games to enjoy the warmth of your home.

Nero Hyakkabe

Writer who buys too many games. I currently have more than 300 games in my stack. Also a novelist. His works include "Todorouni tantei no chozen taru jikenbouki (Roaring Luck Detective's Chosen Case Book: Detective Annihilation Hall Murder Case)" (Seikai-sha) and "Yubisaki kaidan: 140 kanjaku no kaihon (Yubisaki ghost stories: 140 scary stories) (PHP Kenkyujo).
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